Regions Bank Honored by Junior Achievement

By Candace Higginbotham

Junior Achievement USA recently announced that Regions Bank has been honored with a Bronze level 2020-21 U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award.

The award acknowledges the contribution of more than 3,000 volunteer hours by Regions associates with Junior Achievement during the 2020-21 school year. JA announced the honorees during a virtual award ceremony, in which leaders expressed appreciation for the valued support “despite the continued limitations on volunteerism during the pandemic.”

The U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award is a presidential recognition program created by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for individuals and organizations who contribute a significant amount of time to volunteer service.

Regions has a long history with JA, which is dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.

JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. JA reaches 2.5 million students per year in 103 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations in 100 other countries worldwide.

Regions Chief Financial Officer David Turner is a longtime board member of Junior Achievement of Alabama and has served as Chairman of the Board. Many other Regions associates serve on JA boards across the bank’s footprint.

Turner is a strong advocate for educating youth and providing mentorship to help them succeed in the workforce or start a business that ultimately creates jobs and helps grow the local economy.

“I’m very proud of Regions associates for their continued commitment to JA, even during this ‘down year’ when the pandemic prevented us from participating at our usual level,” Turner said. “But I’m excited about 2022 and getting back to our normal program of helping students in the areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy education.”

Birmingham-based Regions associates are jump-starting their JA involvement with the upcoming JA Bowling Classic on April 7 and 8.

Regions Controller Anil Chadha, who serves as Chair of the Bowling Classic, said, “I’m happy about this year’s fundraiser for JA, especially since we weren’t able to have one last year. We have great participation with more than 50 teams from Regions competing. It’s a good way for associates to get together and have fun while supporting a terrific organization.”

Turner echoed Chadha’s enthusiasm about the JA Bowling Classic and added, “Community outreach and volunteerism are part of our culture at Regions, and with the pandemic restrictions lifting I hope all our associates can get back to spending hands-on time with JA and other organizations they’re passionate about.”

To learn more Regions’ support of Junior Achievement, watch the video above.